


Dye My Eyes

by slipsthrufingers



Category: Carnivale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-20
Updated: 2008-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 06:25:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1636370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slipsthrufingers/pseuds/slipsthrufingers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A few years after the events of New Canaan. Ben is still in a funk over Sophie. Libby decides to take matters into her own hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dye My Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from one of the songs in The Wizard Of Oz. Thank you to Betsy, for letting me use her computer to finish this baby, and thank you to Jenni and Piper for betaing for me, and telling me what I'd done wrong. You're both made of awesome.
> 
> Written for Jones and Ashes

 

 

It was a hot night. The air was dry like it always was, and the breeze that blew blew hot and brought her little relief, but Libby didn't care. She'd long ago learnt that she couldn't control the weather and so there was no use complaining about it. Except, of course, when it messed up your hair. But the breeze was behaving tonight, and as far as she was concerned it was a lovely night.

"Keep up, skinny-legs." She hollered over her shoulder at the lanky young boy following behind them. He limped a little, but he'd always done that, and he obviously had for quite a while. He didn't walk, he rolled along, stepping down heavily dragging himself and his lame foot along behind her. "We don't want to miss the flick."

"Yeah, if we're late cos've you we won't be hearin' the end of it til God knows." Jonesy said grumpily. Libby looped her arm in the crook of her husband's elbow and though she felt him stiffen as she pulled him so close, he didn't pull away. She smiled up at him fondly.

Ben began to walk along a little quicker, stepping up pace until he was walking along side them, although still a half a step or two behind Jonesy's long stride. Libby watched him for a little bit, wondering if it was a good idea for her to invite him along, but they reached the cinema before she had a chance to ask. Jonesy reached out to open the door, but Ben moved quicker than he expected, slipping in front to open the door first.

"Here." He mumbled, making eye contact with the two of them only briefly. She would've missed those hazel-blue eyes if she'd blinked, and she was glad she hadn't. Lila was always reading poetry about eyes being the windows to the soul and Ben's were the only eyes that Libby thought actually lived up to it. She could see there were secrets behind them, things Ben hid from others that revealed themselves only in the small flecks of yellow and green in his iris.

Jonesy pulled her through the door and into the bustling foyer. Old, young, rich, poor, dirty, clean. People from all over the city were milling around the theatre doors, waiting to be let in. Some were lining up to the side, where they were selling refreshments. Grape Nehis, popcorn and hard candy. Others were lining up in front of a booth in which a tall usher dressed in a clean-pressed red coat was issuing tickets for a quarter each.

"We only got about ten minutes." Jonesy said, checking his watch. "Ben, how about you get us some popcorn while we get tickets." He said, pulling out a dollar note from his pocket. He held it out to Ben who hesitated, but took it and loped off towards the candy bar.

"Do you think we should've invited him?" Libby asked nervously, in a whisper, as though Ben could hear her though he was on the other side of the crowded room.

Jonesy shrugged and with a hand on the small of her back he guided her into the ticket line. It slipped a little lower than she usually let him go in public. She pushed him away with a slap on the hand. Jonesy smirked.

"I'm serious." Libby said, tucking herself into the crook of his arm, pulling him close. "I keep tryin' so hard to make sure he don't feel like a third wheel and he don't even look like he wants to be here."

"He does, or he wouldn't've come at all, so don't fret." Jonesy said as they reached the ticket window. "Three, please." He said, slipping the money through the slot at the bottom of the window.

"The feature starts at 7pm sharp, sir." The usher said, slipping the tickets and the change back underneath the window, all of which Jonesy pocketed with a nod.

"I didn't know if you wanted any pop." Ben said, suddenly appearing from behind Jonesy's shoulder. He was laden with popcorn boxes and three bottles of grape Nehi. Libby started a little, but forced a smile as she helped to unladen him a little by taking two of the bottles away from him.

"Thank you, Ben." She said, tucking a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes behind her ear.

"Yeah, thanks Hawkins." Jonesy said gruffly, taking a handful from a box as he lifted it out of Ben's hand. "The movie starts in ten, we should go line up."

"This one is supposed to be in colour." Libby said cheerfully.

"I ain't seen one in colour before." Ben admitted quietly, following the other two as they joined the line.

Libby grinned. "It's exciting, isn't it?"

"I reckon it's all fancy hoo-ha they made to cover up their mistakes."

"Aw don't listen to him." She said, nudging Ben gently. "He still likes the old silent flickers."

"Charlie Chaplin had the right idea. Words can trick you. Actions don't lie."

"Yeah they do." Libby said. "Mama and I used to get up on stage every damn night and lie with our bodies."

"Did you have to bring that up?" Jonesy said, his tone betraying his distaste for the topic.

"Yeah. Yeah I did." Libby said, pushing him away and propping her arms up on her hips. "I respect your work, it pisses me off that you don't respect mine." Ben stepped back a little, as though looking for a quick way out, but the ushers were already herding people into the theatre.

"I'm lookin' forward to it..." Ben said loudly and awkwardly. Both Libby and Jonesy turned to stare. Both were a little annoyed at the interruption, before they were guided into their seats. Ben continued on, as though determined to finish saying his thoughts. "... The flicker... It's new, it... it might be fun."

"Yeah, well it's probably gonna be a waste of money." Jonesy said bitterly, plonking down in the seat, popcorn spilling all over his pants and onto the floor.

Libby elbowed her husband in the stomach. "Don't waste it." She spat. "There won't be enough for us."

"Just... be quiet. The flicker is startin', and you were the one who badgered us all to come."

"I ain't badgered anyone. God, why do you have to be such an asshole."

The lights dimmed, and the silver screen in front of them was lit up brightly with the titles of the movie. 'The Wizard of Oz', appeared on the screen, and a sepia coloured Kansas soon replaced it. The young girl in the gingham dress sang of a word over the rainbow that was far more interesting than the one she lived in now and when things started to go wrong, when they were going to take her dog away she ran away.

As the story unfolded before their eyes in monochrome, Libby and Jonesy forgot their squabble, at least for now, and settled down into watching. But when the psychic fraud, Professor Marvel, invited Dorothy into his caravan to tell her her future, Libby froze. This was backfiring on them. They'd brought Ben out tonight to help him forget the psychic in his life. Or who'd used to be. Now she was all over the radio, preaching with her father about the sins of our fathers and the taint of damnation. Jonesy had told her once that he'd caught Ben listening to her show on the wireless, late at night when the rest of the Carnival had shut down.

Libby looked over cautiously, the light from the screen illuminating the audience just enough for her to catch a glimpse of Ben's face. She feared that she'd see that look, that broken-puppy look he sometimes had when the world handed him more and more lemons to add to his basket. But he was smiling at the jokes, was fearful when the tornado hit, and she was so distracted by him that she wasn't watching the screen when the house landed in Oz and full colour bloomed from the screen. But she did see Ben's look of utter delight, and she sat back to watch the rest of the film in peace, satisfied that her dose of pure escapism had worked and that if only for a few hours, Ben was free.

 


End file.
